Day Traders Diary

11/1/19

The major averages surged on Friday as investor sentiment got a lift from much stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 301 points or 1.1% at 27,347. The S&P 500 gained 1% to end the day at 3,066, a fresh record close. The Nasdaq Composite also hit an all-time high, climbing 1.1% to 8,386.

The U.S. economy added 128,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a gain of 75,000 jobs for the previous month. October jobs growth easily beat estimates despite a decline of 42,000 jobs in the autos sector due to a General Motors strike that has now been settled. Jobs growth data for September and August was also revised substantially higher.

On the trade front, the China's Ministry of Commerce said both sides reached a consensus on core issues in a phone call involving senior negotiators. The USTR office followed up, saying that they are "in the process" of resolving outstanding issues, according to CNBC.

Exxon Mobil was among the best-performing stocks in the Dow on the back of stronger-than-forecast quarterly results. The stock gained 3%. Tech company Qorvo jumped 20% on earnings. Qorvo is a supplier to Apple. A number of stocks were lower following earnings including Avis, Seagate, Pinterest, Colgate and Arista Networks. Pinterest and Arista were down 17% and 24% respectively.

Separately, Fitbit rose 15% after agreeing to be acquired by Alphabet for $7.35/share in cash, or approximately $2.1 billion.

The industrials and financials sectors performed well up 1.4% each. The defensive-oriented, and rate-sensitive sectors, real estate and utilities both finished in the red as Treasury yields pushed higher.

The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield increased four basis points each to 1.56% and 1.73%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.2% to 97.20.